Actuators are commonly used to operate components of large machinery, such as aircraft. For example, linear actuators may be used to extend and retract landing gear or undercarriages of aircraft. Linear actuators may also be used in other aerospace or non-aerospace applications.
Actuators often require a locking mechanism to ensure that the actuator remains in a specific position. For example, the actuator may be required to sustain a load while remaining in a specific position. Specifically, in operating landing gear on an aircraft the actuators should be locked to ensure that the landing gear remains in the required position, sustaining all necessary landing and ground loads.
Present mechanisms for locking actuators in an extended position or for locking an actuator to sustain a load may be prohibitively expensive. These types of locking mechanisms may also have numerous parts and can be susceptible to breakage, failure and wear. Typical locking mechanisms must therefore be regularly maintained or replaced at a high cost. Present locking mechanisms rely on a hydraulic system to control the operation of the locking mechanism. This hydraulic control system for the locking mechanism is expensive to manufacture and susceptible to failure.